Camera Module

ABSTRACT

A lens moving apparatus includes a base, a printed circuit board disposed over the base, and mounted on the base, a coil disposed over the printed circuit board, and a lens barrel, which contacts the base at a lower portion of an outer surface thereof, wherein the base, the printed circuit board and the coil include respective holes, wherein the lens moving apparatus includes a blocking member, which is provided along an internal surface of the hole in the base and which protrudes in a first direction so as to prevent the lower portion of the outer surface of the lens barrel from contacting internal surfaces of the holes in the printed circuit board and/or the coil.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.14/982,853, filed Dec. 29, 2015, which claims the benefit under 35U.S.C. § 119 to Korean Patent Application Nos. 10-2014-0191941, filedDec. 29, 2014; 10-2014-0193194 filed Dec. 30, 2014; and 10-2014-0193195,filed Dec. 30, 2014, the disclosures of each of which are incorporatedherein by reference in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments relate to a lens moving apparatus.

BACKGROUND

It is difficult to adopt voice coil motor (VCM) technology, which istypically used in conventional camera modules, for use in anultracompact camera module, which aims at achieving low powerconsumption, and thus research into the technology has been activelyundertaken.

A camera module mounted in a small-sized electronic product, such as asmart phone, may be frequently subjected to shocks during use. Inaddition, the camera module may minutely shake due to the trembling ofthe user's hand while taking a photograph. Therefore, there is a highnecessity for a technology capable of incorporating an optical imagestabilizer into the camera module.

A camera module may include a lens barrel equipped with at least onelens on which light is incident. The lens barrel may move in a planeperpendicular to the optical axis during handshake correction. Duringthe movement of the lens barrel, the lens barrel may collide withcomponents of a lens moving apparatus and a camera module including thelens moving apparatus. In this case, there is a problem in that the lensbarrel and components colliding with the lens barrel may break.

A camera module may include a lens barrel equipped with at least onelens on which light is incident. When an autofocusing operation isperformed or an external impact is applied to the camera module, thelens barrel may move upward and downward along the optical axis. Duringthe movement of the lens barrel, the lens barrel may collide with thecomponents of the lens moving apparatus and a camera module includingthe lens moving apparatus. In this case, there is a problem in that thelens barrel and components colliding with the lens barrel may break.

A camera module may include an image sensor, on which light containingan image of an object is incident and on which the image is formed.Components capable of reflecting incident lights may be disposed nearthe image sensor. Accordingly, when incident light is reflected by thecomponents, there may be problems in that the image formed on the imagesensor is distorted or the quality of the image is deteriorated.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Accordingly, an object of the embodiments is to provide a lens movingapparatus, which is capable of preventing the breakage caused by impactsattributable to the movement of a lens barrel in the directionperpendicular to the optical axis of the lens barrel during handshakecorrection.

Another object of the embodiments is to provide a lens moving apparatus,which is capable of preventing breakage caused by impacts attributableto the movement of a lens barrel in the optical axis direction when anautofocusing operation is performed or an external impact is applied.

A further object of the embodiments is to provide a lens movingapparatus, which is capable of preventing the distortion or qualitydeterioration of an image formed on an image sensor.

In one embodiment, a lens moving apparatus includes a base, a printedcircuit board disposed over the base, and mounted on the base, a coildisposed over the printed circuit board, and a lens barrel, whichcontacts the base at a lower portion of an outer surface thereof,wherein the base, the printed circuit board and the coil includerespective holes, wherein the lens moving apparatus includes a blockingmember, which is provided along the internal surface of the hole in thebase and which protrudes in a first direction so as to prevent the lowerportion of the outer surface of the lens barrel from contacting theinternal surfaces of the holes in the printed circuit board and/or thecoil.

In another embodiment, a lens moving apparatus includes a first holderon which a filter is mounted, a lens barrel, which is movable upward anddownward in a first direction, and a second holder, which is disposedunder the first holder and on which an image sensor is mounted, whereinthe first holder includes a protrusion, which is disposed along the sidearea of the filter and protrudes in the first direction.

In a further embodiment, a lens moving apparatus includes a first holderon which a filter is mounted, a lens barrel, which is movable upward anddownward in a first direction, and a second holder, which is disposedunder the first holder and on which an image sensor is mounted, whereinthe filter includes a masking member, which is configured to have arectangular shape when viewed in a first direction and which has aconstant width along a side area thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Arrangements and embodiments may be described in detail with referenceto the following drawings in which like reference numerals refer to likeelements and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing part of a lens moving apparatusaccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing part of the lens movingapparatus according to the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the base according to anembodiment;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the base and the printed circuitboard, according to an embodiment, which are coupled to each other;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing pan of the lens movingaccording to an embodiment;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of region A of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective showing part of the lens movingapparatus according to an embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a side view showing part of the lens moving apparatusaccording to the embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a side view showing the lens moving apparatus of FIG. 8, fromwhich some components are removed;

FIG. 10A is an exploded perspective view showing part of the lens movingapparatus according to another embodiment;

FIG. 10B is a side view showing part of the lens moving apparatusaccording to the embodiment;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing the first holder according to anembodiment;

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view showing region A1 of FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view showing part of the lens movingapparatus according to an embodiment;

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view showing region B1 of FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a plan view illustrating the function of the protrusionformed on the first holder according to an embodiment;

FIG. 16 is a plan view showing the first holder according to anembodiment;

FIG. 17 is a plan view showing the second holder according to anembodiment;

FIG. 18 is a plan view showing the first holder and the second holder,according to an embodiment, which are coupled to each other;

FIG. 19 is an exploded perspective view showing part of the lens movingapparatus according to a further embodiment;

FIG. 20 is a side view showing part of the lens moving apparatusaccording to the embodiment;

FIG. 21 is a perspective view showing the first holder according to thefurther embodiment;

FIG. 22 is a plan view showing the second holder according to thefurther embodiment;

FIG. 23 is a plan view showing the masking member, which overlaps thesecond holder shown in FIG. 22;

FIG. 24 is an enlarged view showing region B of FIG. 23; and

FIG. 25 is a cross-sectional view showing part of the lens movingapparatus according to an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to theattached drawings. In the drawings, the same or similar elements aredenoted by the same reference numerals even when they are depicted indifferent drawings. In the following description, a detailed descriptionof known functions and configurations incorporated herein will beomitted when it may make the subject matter of the disclosure ratherunclear. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that some features inthe drawings are exaggerated, reduced, or simplified for ease indescription, and drawings and elements thereof are not shown always atthe proper proportion.

For reference, in the respective drawings, a rectangular coordinatesystem (x, y, z) may be used. In the drawings, the x-axis and the y-axismean a plane perpendicular to an optical axis and, for convenience, anoptical axis (z-axis) direction may be referred to as a first direction,an x-axis direction may be referred to as a second direction, and ay-axis direction may be referred to as a third direction.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing part of a lens moving apparatusaccording to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is anexploded perspective view showing part of the lens moving apparatusaccording to the embodiment.

An optical image stabilizing apparatus, which is applied to compactcamera modules of mobile devices such as smart phones or tablet PCs,refers to an apparatus configured to prevent the contour of an image,captured when taking a still image, from being unclearly formed due tovibrations caused by the trembling of the user's hand.

In addition, an autofocusing apparatus is configured to automaticallyfocus the subject image on the surface of an image sensor. The opticalimage stabilizing apparatus and the autofocusing apparatus may beconfigured in various manners. In the embodiments, the lens movingapparatus may perform the optical image stabilizing and/or autofocusingoperations in such a manner as to move an optical module, composed of aplurality of lenses, in a first direction or in a plane perpendicular tothe first direction.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the lens moving apparatus according to anembodiment may include a movable unit. The movable unit may fulfill thefunctions of autofocusing and handshake correction for a lens. Themovable unit may include a bobbin 110, a first coil 120, first magnets130, a housing 140, an upper elastic member 150 and a lower elasticmember 160.

The bobbin 110 may be accommodated in the housing 140. The first coil120, which is disposed in the first magnets 130, may be provided on theouter surface of the bobbin 110. The bobbin 110 may be mounted so as tobe reciprocated in a first direction in the internal space of thehousing 140 by electromagnetic interaction between the first magnets 130and the first coil 120. The first coil 120 may be provided on the outersurface of the bobbin 110 so as to electromagnetically interact with thefirst magnets 130.

The bobbin 110 may be moved in the first direction while beingelastically supported by the upper and lower elastic members 150 and160, thereby fulfilling the autofocusing function.

The bobbin 110 may include a lens barrel 400 into which at least onelens is mounted. The lens barrel 400 may be internally coupled to thebobbin 110 in various manners.

In an example, the bobbin 110 may be provided on the inner surfacethereof with a female threaded portion, and the lens barrel 400 may beprovided on the outer surface thereof with a male threaded portioncorresponding to the female threaded portion, whereby the lens barrel400 may be coupled to the bobbin 110 by means of threaded engagementtherebetween. However, the coupling between the lens barrel and thebobbin 110 is not limited thereto, and the lens barrel may be directlycoupled to the inside of the bobbin 110 in a way other than the threadedengagement, without providing the female threaded portion on the innersurface of the bobbin 110.

Alternatively, one or more lenses may be integrally formed with thebobbin 110 without using the lens barrel. However, in this embodiment, alens moving apparatus, in which the lens barrel 400 is providedseparately, is described.

The lens, which is coupled to the lens barrel 400, may be composed of asingle lens, or two or more lenses constituting an optical system.

The autofocusing function may be controlled by changing the direction ofcurrent, or may be fulfilled by the action of moving the bobbin 110 inthe first direction. For example, the bobbin 110 may be moved upwardfrom its initial position upon the application of forward current, andmay be moved downward upon the application of reverse current. Thedistance by which the bobbin 110 moves in one direction from the initialposition may be increased or decreased by controlling the amount ofcurrent flowing in one direction.

The bobbin 110 may be provided on upper and lower surfaces thereof witha plurality of upper support protrusions and a plurality of lowersupport protrusions, respectively. The upper support protrusions may beconfigured to have a circular cylindrical shape or a rectangular columnshape, and may serve to couple or secure the upper elastic member 150thereto. The lower support protrusions may also be configured to have acircular cylindrical shape or a rectangular column shape, and may serveto couple or secure the lower elastic member 160 thereto, like the uppersupport protrusions.

The upper elastic member 150 may have through holes corresponding to theupper support protrusions, and the lower elastic member 160 may havethrough holes corresponding to the lower support protrusions. Therespective support protrusions and the corresponding through holes maybe fixedly coupled to each other by means of thermal fusion or anadhesive such as epoxy.

The housing 140 may be configured to have a hollow column, for example,an approximately rectangular hollow column capable of supporting thefirst magnets 130. Each lateral side of the housing 140 may be providedwith the first magnet 130 and support members 220 secured thereto. Asdescribed above, the bobbin 110 may be disposed on the inner surface ofthe housing 140, and may be guided and moved in the first direction bythe housing 140.

Each of the upper and lower elastic members 150 and 160 may be coupledto both the housing 140 and the bobbin 110, and the upper elastic member150 and the lower elastic member 160 may elastically support the upwardand/or downward movement of the bobbin 110 in the first direction. Theupper elastic member 150 and the lower elastic member 160 may beconstituted by a leaf spring.

As shown in FIG. 2, the upper elastic member 150 may be composed of aplurality of elastic members, which are separated from each other. Byvirtue of the multiple partitioning structure, current having differentpolarities or different electric powers may be applied to the respectiveelastic members of the upper elastic member 150. The lower elasticmember 160 may also be composed of a plurality of elastic members, andmay be conductively connected to the upper elastic member 150.

The upper elastic member 150, the lower elastic member 160, the bobbin110 and the housing 140 may be assembled to one another by means ofthermal fusion and/or bonding using an adhesive or the like.

The base 210 may be disposed under the bobbin 110, and may be configuredto have an approximately rectangular shape. A printed circuit board 250may be disposed over the base 210, and mounted on the base 210.

The regions of the base 210 that face terminal members 253 of theprinted circuit board 250 may be provided with respective supportrecesses having a size corresponding to that of the terminal members253. The support recesses may be recessed from the outer circumferentialsurfaces of the base 210 by a predetermined depth such that the terminalmembers 253 do not protrude outward from the outer circumferentialsurface of the base 210 or such that the extent to which the terminalmembers 253 protrude can be controlled.

The support members 220 are disposed on the lateral sides of the housing140 such that the upper sides of the support members 220 are coupled tothe housing 140 and the lower sides of the support members 220 arecoupled to the base 210. The support members 220 may support the bobbin110 and the housing 140 in such a manner as to allow the bobbin 110 andthe housing 140 to move in the second and third directions,perpendicular to the first direction. The support members 220 may beconductively connected to the first coil 120.

Since the support members 220 according to the embodiment are disposedone on the outer surface of each corner of the housing 140, a total offour support members 220 may be disposed. The support members 220 may beconductively connected to the upper elastic member 150. Specifically,the support members 220 may be conductively connected to regions aroundthe through holes.

Since the support members 220 are made of a material different from thatof the upper elastic member 150, the support members 220 may beconductively connected to the upper elastic member 150 by means of aconductive adhesive, solder or the like. Consequently, the upper elasticmember 150 may apply current to the first coil 120 through the supportmembers 220 conductively connected thereto.

Although the support members 220 are illustrated in FIG. 2 as beingembodied as linear support members according to an embodiment, thesupport members 220 are not limited thereto. In other words, the supportmembers 220 may be configured to have a plate shape or the like.

Second coils 230 may move the housing 140 in the second and/or thirddirections to perform the handshake correction by virtue ofelectromagnetic interaction with the first magnets 130.

The second or third direction may include not only the x-axis directionor the y-axis direction but also a direction which is substantiallyclose to the x-axis direction or the y-axis direction. In other words,in terms of driving in the embodiments, although a housing 140 may movein a direction parallel to the x-axis or the y-axis, the housing maymove in a direction which is slightly inclined with respect to thex-axis or the y-axis in the state of being supported by a support member220.

Accordingly, the first magnets 130 are required to be disposed atpositions corresponding to the second coils 230.

The second coils 230 may be disposed so as to face the first magnets130, which are secured to the housing 140. In one embodiment, the secondcoils 230 may be disposed outside the first magnets 130, or may bedisposed under the first magnets 130 so as to be spaced apart from thefirst magnets 130 by a predetermined distance.

Although a total of four second coils 230 may be disposed one on eachside of a circuit member 231 according to the embodiment, the disclosureis not limited thereto. Only two second coils 230, that is, one secondcoil for movement in the second direction and one second coil formovement in the third direction, may be provided, or a total of morethan four second coils 230 may be provided.

In the embodiment, although circuit patterns having the shape of thesecond coils 230 are formed on the circuit member 231 and additionalsecond coils are disposed on the circuit board 231, the disclosure isnot limited thereto. Alternatively, only additional second coils 230 maybe disposed on the circuit member 231, without forming the circuitpatterns having the shape of the second coils 230.

Furthermore, the second coils 230, which have been prepared by windingwires into a doughnut shape or which have the shape of a finelypatterned coil, may be conductively connected to the printed circuitboard 250.

The circuit member 231 including the second coils 230 may be disposed onthe upper surface of the printed circuit board 250, which is positionedover the base 210. However, the disclosure is not limited thereto, andthe second coils 230 may be disposed on the base 210 in a state of beingin close contact therewith, or may be spaced apart from the base 210 bya predetermined distance. In other examples, a substrate on which thesecond coils are formed may be layered on the printed circuit board 250and connected thereto.

The printed circuit board 250 may be conductively connected to at leastone of the upper elastic member 150 and the lower elastic member 160,and may be coupled to the upper surface of the base 210. As shown inFIG. 2, the printed circuit board 250 may have through holes formed atpositions corresponding to the support members 220, so as to allow thesupport members 220 to be fitted into the through holes.

The printed circuit board 250 may be provided with the terminal members253, which are formed by bending portions of the printed circuit board250. Each terminal member 253 includes a plurality of terminals 251 forthe application of external power to the terminal members 253, wherebycurrent is supplied to the first coil 120 and the second coils 230. Thenumber of terminals 251 provided on each terminal member 253 may beincreased or decreased depending on the kinds of components to becontrolled. Alternatively, the number of terminal members 253 providedon the printed circuit board may be one, or three or more.

A cover member 300, which is configured to have an approximate boxshape, may accommodate the movable unit, the second coils 230 and aportion of the printed circuit board 250, and may be coupled to the base210. The cover member 300 may serve to protect the movable unit, thesecond coils 230, the printed circuit board 250 and the like,accommodated therein, from damage, and may serve to prevent anelectromagnetic field, which is generated by the first magnets 130, thefirst coil 120, the second coils 230 and the like, from leaking outward,thereby concentrating the electromagnetic field.

The base 210, the printed circuit board 250 and the circuit member 231including the second coils 230 may be respectively provided with holes211, 252, 232. By virtue of the respective holes 211, 252 and 232, thelens barrel 400 may be disposed to face a filter 610 or an image sensor810, which will be described later, and light, which has passed throughthe lens barrel 400, may pass through the filter 610, and may then forman image on the image sensor 810.

In addition, the lower end of the lens barrel 400 may be disposed on thelens moving apparatus through the respective holes 211, 252 and 232.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the base 210 according to anembodiment. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the base 210 and theprinted circuit board 250, according to an embodiment, which are coupledto each other.

As shown in FIG. 3, the base 210 may include a blocking member 500. Theblocking member 500 may serve to prevent contact between the internalsurface of the hole in the printed circuit board 250 and/or the secondcoils 230 and the lower end of the side surface of the lens barrel 400.

As shown in FIG. 3, in an embodiment, the blocking member 500 may beconfigured to project in the first direction from the circumferentialedge of the internal surface of the hole 211 in the base 210. Theblocking member 500 may be formed along the internal surface of the hole211 in the base 210 so as to exhibit an annular shape when viewed in thefirst direction.

However, the disclosure is not limited thereto. Although not shown inthe drawings, in another embodiment, the blocking member 500 may includea plurality of blocking members, which are formed around the internalsurface of the hole 211 in the base 210 so as to exhibit an annularshape when viewed in the first direction.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the printed circuit board 250 is disposed onthe base 210, the blocking member 500 may extend through the hole 252 inthe printed circuit board 250 such that the printed circuit board 250 isdisposed over the base 210, and mounted on the base 210.

Although not shown in the drawings, when the second coils 230 aredisposed on the printed circuit board 250, the blocking member 500 maybe fitted into the hole 232 in the second coils 230 such that the secondcoils 230 are mounted on the printed circuit board 250.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing part of the lens movingaccording to an embodiment. FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional viewof region A of FIG. 5.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the lower end of the lens barrel 400 mayextend downward. Specifically, this is because this configuration isessential in order to reduce the overall height, that is, the length inthe first direction of the movable unit, in response to the recent trendtoward small size and to reduce the overall height, that is, the lengthin the first direction, of the camera module for the purpose offabrication of a high-resolution camera module.

In order to manufacture the camera moving apparatus and the cameramodule including the same, there is the need to provide the blockingmember 500 for preventing the lower end of the lens barrel 400 fromcolliding with the second coils 230 or the printed circuit board 250 andto provide the blocking member 500 with specific features.

As shown in FIG. 6, the upper end 500 a of the blocking member 500 maybe positioned higher than the lower end 400 a of the lens barrel 400 inthe first direction. Due to this configuration, the outer surface 400 bof the lens barrel 400 is positioned to face the inner surface 500 b ofthe blocking member 500 at a lower part thereof.

Accordingly, during implementation of the handshake correction by thelens moving apparatus, even when the lens barrel 400 moves in the secondor third direction perpendicular to the first direction, the lens barrel400 may directly contact the blocking member 500 but cannot directlycontact the internal surface 232 a of the hole 232 in the second coils230 or the internal surface 252 a of the hole 252 in the printed circuitboard 250, which is positioned outside the outer surface 550 c of theblocking member 500 in the second or third direction.

In this way, the blocking member 550 may serve to prevent the lensbarrel 400 from directly contacting the second coils 230 or the printedcircuit board 250 when the lens barrel 400 moves in the second or thirddirection.

When the lens barrel 400 moves in the second or third direction anddirectly collides with the second coils 230 or the printed circuit board250, partial breakage or abrasion of the lens barrel 400, the secondcoils 230 and the printed circuit board 250 may occur due to impactswith the second coils 230 or the printed circuit board 250.

Furthermore, when the second coils 230 or the printed circuit board 250are configured to have a very small thickness in the first direction,sever breakage or abrasion may occur because the impacts may be locallyconcentrated on the second coils 230, the printed circuit board 250 andthe lens barrel 400.

Consequently, the blocking member 500 may serve to prevent the secondcoils 230 or the printed circuit board 250 from directly contacting andcolliding with the lens barrel 400. As a result, the blocking member 500has the effect of preventing breakage or abrasion of the second coils230, the printed circuit board 250 and the lens barrel 400 due toimpact.

The blocking member 500 may be configured such that the inner surface500 b of the blocking member 500 at least partially overlaps the outersurface 400 b of the lens barrel 400 in the second or third direction,perpendicular to the first direction.

Since the contact area between the inner surface 500 b of the blockingmember 500 and the outer surface 400 b of the lens barrel 400 isincreased as the length of the overlapping region h1 in the firstdirection is increased, it may be advantageous in the prevention ofbreakage or abrasion of the lens barrel 400.

Since there is a limit to increasing the overlapping region hl in thecase of a lens moving apparatus having a small size, it is necessary toappropriately set the length of the overlapping region h1 inconsideration of the height h2 of the lens barrel 400, the size of thelens moving apparatus or other design conditions.

For example, when the height h2 of the lens barrel 400 in the firstdirection is within a range of 4 mm to 6 mm, the overlapping region hiin the first direction may be within a range of 0.3 mm to 0.8 mm. Here,the height h2 of the lens barrel 400 may be the length measured from theupper surface of the image sensor 810 to the top of the lens barrel 400in the first direction, as shown in FIG. 9.

The height h3 of the outer surface 500 c of the blocking member 500 maybe set to be larger than the thickness h4 of the printed circuit board250 in the first direction.

As shown in FIG. 6, the second coils 230 may be mounted on a region ofthe blocking member 550 that corresponds to the difference between theheight h3 of the outer surface 500 c of the blocking member 500 and thethickness h4 of the printed circuit board 250, and may then be coupledto the printed circuit board 250.

Accordingly, when the height h3 of the outer surface 500 c of theblocking member 500 is larger than the thickness h4 of the printedcircuit board 250, it is possible to prevent direct contact between theinternal surface 232 a of the hole 232 of the second coils 230 and theouter surface 400 b of the lens barrel 400 by virtue of the blockingmember 500.

As described above, the outer surface 500 c of the blocking member 500may be configured to have a height corresponding to at least a portionof the internal surface 252 a of the hole 252 in the printed circuitboard 250 and the internal surface 232 a of the hole 232 in the secondcoil 230.

In other words, although the height h3 of the outer surface 500 c of theblocking member 500 may be smaller than the total height of the printedcircuit board 250 and the second coil 230, the height h3 of the outersurface 500 c of the blocking member 500 is preferably larger than atleast the thickness h4 of the printed circuit board 250.

If the height h3 of the outer surface 500 c of the blocking member 500is smaller than the thickness h4 of the printed circuit board 250, theentire internal surface 232 a of the hole 232 in the second coil 230directly faces the outer surface 400 b of the lens barrel 400. As aresult, the internal surface 232 a of the hole 232 in the second coil230 may directly contact or collide with the outer surface 400 b of thelens barrel 400 without interception by the blocking member 500.

According to this embodiment, the height h3 of the outer surface 500 cof the blocking member 500 is larger than the thickness h4 of theprinted circuit board 250, and the region of the outer surface 500 c ofthe blocking member 500, which corresponds to the difference between theheight h3 of the outer surface 500 c of the blocking member 500 and thethickness h4 of the printed circuit board 250, may contact the internalsurface 232 a of the hole 232 of the second coil 230.

Consequently, since direct contact between the second coils 230 and thelens barrel 400 is prevented by the blocking member 500, it is possibleto prevent breakage of the second coils 230 or the lens barrel 400 dueto direct contact or collision between the second coils 230 and the lensbarrel 400.

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective showing part of the lens movingapparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 8 is a side view showing partof the lens moving apparatus according to the embodiment. FIG. 9 is aside view showing the lens moving apparatus of FIG. 8, from which somecomponents are removed.

The lens moving apparatus according to the embodiment may furtherinclude a first holder 600 and a second holder 800. The first holder 600may be disposed under the base 210, and may be provided with a filter610 mounted thereon.

The filter 610 may serve to prevent light of a specific frequency range,among the light having passed through the lens barrel 400, from enteringthe image sensor 810. Here, the filter 610 is preferably placed in thex-y plane.

The filter 610 may be coupled to the upper surface of the first holder600, and may be an infrared screening filter in an embodiment. Theregion of the first holder 600 on which the filter 610 is mounted may beprovided with a hole so as to allow light having passed through thefilter 610 to enter the image sensor 810.

The base 210 and the first holder 600 may be coupled to each other bymeans of an adhesive 700. Here, the adhesive 700 may include epoxy,thermosetting adhesive, ultraviolet-curable adhesive and the like.

The adhesive 700 shown in FIG. 7 may be applied to the attachment areaof the base 210 or the first holder 600, and the base 210 and the firstholder 600 may be coupled to each other. As a result, the base 210 maybe secured to the first holder 600 as the adhesive 700 is cured.

The adhesive 700 may serve as a seal for blocking the infiltration ofcontaminants into the lens moving apparatus. Accordingly, when the base210 is secured to the first holder 600 by means of the adhesive 700,there is a need for application of the adhesive 700 in order to ensuresufficient sealing of the attachment area.

The second holder 800 may be disposed under the first holder 600, andmay be provided with the image sensor 810 mounted thereon. Light thathas passed through the filter 610 is incident on the image sensor 810,thereby forming an image, which is contained in the light, on the imagesensor 810.

The image sensor 810 is preferably placed on the x-y plane. In oneembodiment, the image sensor 810 may be mounted on the upper surface ofthe first holder 600.

The second holder 800 may include various circuits, devices, controllersand the like for converting the image formed on the image sensor 810into an electric signal and transmitting the signal to an externaldevice.

The second holder 800 may be coupled to the first holder 600. As in thecoupling between the base 210 and the first holder 600, the secondholder 800 may be securely coupled to the first holder 600 throughbonding using an adhesive material.

As shown in FIG. 9, the filter 610 and the image sensor 810 may bepositioned to face each other in the first direction. Here, the filter610 may be spaced apart from the image sensor 810 by a predetermineddistance in the first direction.

As described above, the height h2 of the lens barrel 400, that is, thelength, which is measured from the upper surface of the image sensor 810to the top of the lens barrel 400 in the first direction, may be withina range of 4 mm to 6 mm.

In the embodiment, the blocking member 500 has the effect of preventingbreakage or abrasion of the second coil 230, the printed circuit board250 and the lens barrel 400 due to impacts. Accordingly, the embodimentis able to increase the durability of the second coil 230, the printedcircuit board 250 and the lens barrel 400.

Furthermore, it is possible to prevent particles, generated by breakageand abrasion of the second coil 230, the printed circuit board 250 andthe lens barrel 400, from contaminating or damaging the inside of thelens moving apparatus.

FIG. 10A is an exploded perspective view showing part of the lens movingapparatus according to another embodiment. FIG. 10B is a side viewshowing part of the lens moving apparatus according to the embodiment.

The lens moving apparatus according to the embodiment may furtherinclude a first holder 6000 and a second holder 8000. The first holder6000 may be disposed under the base 2100, and may be provided with thefilter 6100 mounted thereon. Here, the lens barrel 4000 may be mountedon the bobbin 1100 such that the lens barrel 4000 is movable upward anddownward in the first direction with respect to the first holder 6000.

The filter 6100 may serve to prevent light of a specific frequencyrange, among lights having passed through the lens barrel 4000, fromentering the image sensor 8100. Here, the filter 6100 is preferablyplaced in the x-y plane.

The filter 6100 may be coupled to the upper surface of the first holder6000, and may be an infrared screening filter in an embodiment. Theregion of the first holder 6000, on which the filter 6100 is mounted,may be provided with a hole so as to allow light having passed throughthe filter 6100 to enter the image sensor 8100.

The base 2100 and the first holder 6000 may be coupled to each other bymeans of a first adhesive member 7100. Here, the adhesive constitutingthe first adhesive member 7100 may include epoxy, thermosettingadhesive, ultraviolet-curable adhesive and the like.

The first adhesive member 7100 shown in FIG. 10A may be applied to theattachment area of the base 2100 or the first holder 6000, and the base2100 and the first holder 6000 may be coupled to each other. As aresult, the base 2100 may be secured to the first holder 6000 as theadhesive 7100 is cured.

The first adhesive member 7100 may serve as a seal for blocking theinfiltration of contaminants into the lens moving apparatus.Accordingly, when the base 2100 is secured to the first holder 6000using a sufficient amount of adhesive, there is a need to maintain theattachment area in a sufficiently sealed state.

The second holder 8000 may be disposed under the first holder 6000, andmay be provided with the image sensor 8100 mounted thereon. Light havingpassed through the filter 6100 is incident on the image sensor 8100,thereby forming an image, which is contained in the light, on the imagesensor 8100.

The image sensor 8100 is preferably placed in the x-y plane. In oneembodiment, the image sensor 8100 may be mounted on the upper surface ofthe first holder 6000.

The second holder 8000 may include various circuits, devices,controllers and the like for converting the image formed on the imagesensor 8100 into an electric signal and transmitting the signal to anexternal device.

The second holder 8000 may be coupled to the first holder 6000. As inthe coupling between the base 2100 and the first holder 6000, the secondholder 8000 may be securely coupled to the first holder 6000 throughbonding using an adhesive material. The second holder 8000 may beconstituted by a circuit board, on which the image sensor 8100 ismounted and a circuit pattern is formed, and to which various devicesare coupled.

As shown in FIG. 10B, the filter 6100 and the image sensor 8100 may bepositioned to face each other in the first direction. Here, the filter6100 may be spaced apart from the image sensor 8100 by a predetermineddistance in the first direction.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing the first holder 6000 according toan embodiment. FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view showing region A1 ofFIG. 11. As shown in FIG. 11, the first holder 6000 may include aprotrusion 5000.

The protrusion 5000 may serve to prevent the lower end of the lensbarrel 4000 from contacting the filter 6100 at the area of the firstholder 6000 on which the filter 6100 is mounted. The protrusion 5000 mayprotrude in the first direction along the peripheral edge of the filter6100.

As shown in FIG. 12, the upper end 5000 a of the protrusion 5000 may bepositioned to be higher than the upper surface 6100 a of the filter 6100in the first direction. This intends to prevent the lower end of thelens barrel 4000 from directly colliding with the filter 6100 when thelens barrel 4000, mounted on the bobbin moves upward or downward, ormoves downward in the first direction due to external impacts. Thestructure for preventing collision will be described in detail laterwith reference to FIG. 14.

The inner surface 5000 b of the protrusion 5000 may be positioned toface the side surface of the filter 6100 in the state of being spacedapart therefrom. This intends to ensure a machining tolerance forallowing the filter 6100 to be easily mounted in the protrusion 5000 ofthe first holder 6000.

Furthermore, when the lens barrel 4000 or another component of the lensmoving apparatus applies an impact to the protrusion 5000, thisconfiguration prevents the impact from being directly transmitted to thefilter 6100 through the protrusion 5000, thereby preventing breakage ordamage to the filter 6100.

Referring again to FIG. 11, the filter 6100 may be configured to have arectangular shape when viewed in the first direction. Since the filter6100 made of a transparent material is attached to the peripheral areaof the octagonal hole formed in the first holder 6000 by means of anadhesive or the like, a transparent octagonal area through which thelight having passed through the lens barrel 4000 passes may be defined,as shown in FIG. 11.

In accordance with the configuration of the filter 6100, the protrusion5000 may be constructed, for example, by disposing linear members havinga constant width along the respective sides of the filter 6100 whenviewed in the front direction and coupling the linear members to eachother at the respective corners of the filter 6100.

The linear members may be integrally formed with the first holder 6000through injection molding or the like such that the linear membersprotrude from the upper surface of the first holder 6000. Alternatively,the protrusion 5000 may be formed by coupling additional linear membersto the upper surface of the first holder 6000 by means of an adhesive,thermal fusion or the like.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view showing part of the lens movingapparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional viewshowing region B1 of FIG. 13. FIG. 15 is a plan view illustrating thefunction of the protrusion 5000 formed on the first holder 6000according to an embodiment. The structures and functions of the bobbin1100, the first coil 120, the first magnets 130, the printed circuitboard 2500 and the housing 3000 have been previously described.

As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the lower end of the lens barrel 4000 mayextend downward. Specifically, this is because this configuration isessential to reduce the overall height, that is, the length in the firstdirection of the movable unit in response to the recent trend towardreduced size and to reduce the overall height, that is, the length inthe first direction, of the camera module for the purpose of fabricationof a high-resolution camera module.

In order to manufacture the camera moving apparatus and the cameramodule including the same, there is a need to provide the blockingmember 500 for preventing the lower end of the lens barrel 4000 fromcolliding with the filter 6000 and breakage of the filter 6000 caused bythe collision, along with specific features of the blocking member 500.

As shown in FIG. 14, the lens barrel 4000 mounted on the bobbin may movedownward in the first direction, and may also be moved downward by anexternal impact. When the lens barrel 4000 moves downward, the lower endof the lens barrel 4000 may directly contact the filter 6100.

In this case, although the filter 6100 may be broken or damaged due toimpacts applied by the lower end of the lens barrel 4000, the protrusion5000 provided on the peripheral area of the filter 6100 may preventdirect contact between the lens barrel 4000 and the filter 6100, asshown in FIG. 14.

As described above, since the upper end 5000 a of the protrusion 5000 ispositioned to be higher than the upper surface 6100 a of the filter 6100in the first direction, the lower end of the lens barrel 4000 collideswith the upper end 5000 a of the protrusion 5000 upon the downwardmovement of the lens barrel 4000.

In addition, since the inner surface 5000 b of the protrusion 5000 ispositioned to face the side surface of the filter 6100 in the state ofbeing spaced apart therefrom, even when the protrusion 5000 collideswith the lens barrel 4000 or another component of the lens movingapparatus, the impact applied to the protrusion 5000 is not directlytransmitted to the filter 6100.

According to the embodiment, since the protrusion 5000 prevent the lensbarrel 4000 or another component of the lens moving apparatus fromdirectly contacting the filter 6100, it is possible to prevent breakageor damage of the filter 6100 due to the impact caused by the directcontact. In other words, by causing the lower end of the lens barrel4000 to contact the protrusion 5000 rather than the coupled regionbetween the first holder 6000 and the filter 6100, it is possible toprevent breakage or damage of the filter 6100.

That is, the protrusion serves to prevent the lower end of the lensbarrel 4000 from breaking or damaging the filter 6100, thereby improvingthe durability of the filter 6100.

The width of the protrusion 5000 in the second or third direction,perpendicular to the first direction, the distance between the innerside surfaces 5000 b of the protrusion in the second or third directionor the like may be appropriately selected in consideration of the movingrange of the lens barrel 4000 in the second or third direction duringthe execution of handshake correction, the position or surface area atwhich the filter 6100 is mounted, and the like.

As shown in FIG. 15, when the adhesive constituting the first adhesivemember 7100 is applied to the first holder 6000, the protrusion 5000 mayserve to prevent the adhesive from flowing and thus contaminating ordamaging the filter 6100 prior to curing.

Specifically, although the adhesive may flow in the directions of thearrows in FIG. 15 before the adhesive cures, the protrusion 5000, whichprotrudes in the first direction, may prevent the adhesive from flowinginto the filter 6100.

In other words, since the protrusion 5000 prevents the adhesiveconstituting the first adhesive member 7100, which is applied to theperipheral area of the first holder 6000, from flowing into the firstholder 6000 and then flowing into the filter 6100, it is possible toprevent contamination or damage to the filter 6100 caused by theadhesive.

FIG. 16 is a plan view showing the first holder 6000 according to anembodiment. FIG. 17 is a plan view showing the second holder 8000according to an embodiment. FIG. 18 is a plan view showing the firstholder 6000 and the second holder 8000, according to an embodiment,which are coupled to each other.

As shown in FIG. 16, the first holder 6000 may be provided on one sidesurface thereof with a recess 6200. As shown in FIG. 18, the recess 6200may be formed in the first holder 6000 at a position corresponding to anopening 7210 (described later) when the first holder 6000 and the secondholder 8000 are coupled to each other.

A second adhesive member 7200 for coupling the first holder 6000 to thesecond holder 8000 may be disposed between the first holder 6000 and thesecond holder 8000. The second adhesive member 7200 may be formed by theapplication of an adhesive. Although the second adhesive member 7200 maybe formed by applying an adhesive to the lower surface of the firstholder 6000 or the upper surface of the second holder 8000, in thisembodiment the adhesive is applied to the upper surface of the secondholder 8000 to form the second adhesive member 7200.

Like the adhesive constituting the first adhesive member 7100, theadhesive constituting the second adhesive member 7200 may include epoxy,thermosetting adhesive, infrared-curable adhesive and the like.

The second adhesive member 7200 may be provided with the opening 7201 towhich adhesive is not applied. As described above, the opening 7210 maybe provided at a position corresponding to the recess 6200 in the firstholder 6000.

The second holder 8000 may be provided at opposite side areas thereofwith a plurality of terminals 8200, and the opening 7210 may be providedin one of the remaining side areas of the second holder 8000. Thisintends to prevent contamination or damage of the terminals 8200 causedby a filler 9000 when the recess 6200, positioned at a locationcorresponding to the opening 7201, is filled with the filler 9000.

The width w1 of the opening 7210 may be smaller than the width w2 of therecess 6200. This intends to completely close the space between thefirst holder 6000 and the second holder 8000, which is opened by theopening 7210, when the recess 6200 is filled with the filler 9000.

In fabrication, an adhesive is applied to the upper surface of thesecond holder 8000 so as to form the second adhesive member 7200, andthe first holder 6000 and the second holder 8000 are coupled to eachother. Thereafter, gas may vaporize from volatile material contained inthe adhesive while the adhesive is curing.

If the gas remains in the space defined between the lower surface of thefirst holder 6000 and the upper surface of the second holder 8000, it ispreferable to discharge the gas to the outside because the gas wouldotherwise contaminate or damage circuits, various devices and the likeof the first holder 6000 or the second holder 8000.

Accordingly, the gas may be discharged to the outside from the spacedefined between the lower surface of the first holder 6000 and the uppersurface of the second holder 8000 through the opening 7210. After theadhesive constituting the second adhesive member 7200 is cured and thegas is discharged, the recess 6200 in the first holder 6000 is filledwith the filler 9000.

Specifically, after the first holder 6000 and the second holder 8000 arecoupled to each other by curing of the adhesive constituting the firstadhesive member 7100, the recess 6200 of the first holder 6000 may befilled with the filler 9000, thereby closing the space defined betweenthe lower surface of the first holder 6000 and the upper surface of thesecond holder 8000.

The filler 9000 may be an adhesive. Like the adhesive constituting thefirst adhesive member 7100 or the second adhesive member 7200, thefiller 9000 may include epoxy, thermosetting adhesive, infrared-curableadhesive and the like.

By virtue of this structure, the space defined between the lower surfaceof the first holder 6000 and the upper surface of the second holder 8000may be completely closed after the gas is discharged to the outside.

The assembly comprising the first holder 6000 and the second holder 8000may be subjected to a washing procedure. Since the space defined betweenthe lower surface of the first holder 6000 and the upper surface of thesecond holder 8000 is closed during the washing procedure, it ispossible to provide an effect of enabling wet cleaning using washingliquid.

Specifically, since the space defined between the lower surface of thefirst holder 6000 and the upper surface of the second holder 8000 isclosed by the wet cleaning, it is possible to prevent contamination ordamage of the first holder 6000 and the second holder 8000 caused by thefact that the washing liquid infiltrates into the space and remainstherein for a long period of time.

In the embodiment, since the assembly of the first holder 6000 and thesecond holder 8000, which is provided with the recess 6200, the opening7210 and the filler 9000, does not allow the washing liquid toinfiltrate thereinto, the assembly offers the effect of enabling easyexecution of wet cleaning.

FIG. 19 is an exploded perspective view showing part of the lens movingapparatus according to a further embodiment. FIG. 20 is a side viewshowing part of the lens moving apparatus according to the embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 19, the lens moving apparatus according to theembodiment may further include a first holder 1600 and a second holder1800. The first holder 6000 may be disposed under the base 1210, and maybe provided with the filter 1610 mounted thereon.

The filter 1610 may serve to prevent light of a specific frequencyrange, among light having passed through the lens barrel 1400, fromentering the image sensor 1810. Here, the filter 1610 is preferablyplaced in the x-y plane.

The filter 1610 may be coupled to the upper surface of the first holder1600, and may be an infrared screening filter in an embodiment. Theregion of the first holder 1600, on which the filter 1610 is mounted,may be provided with a hole so as to allow light having passed throughthe filter 1610 to enter the image sensor 1810.

The base 1210 and the first holder 1600 may be coupled to each other bymeans of an adhesive. Here, the adhesive may include epoxy,thermosetting adhesive, ultraviolet-curable adhesive and the like.

The adhesive may serve to block the infiltration of contaminants intothe lens moving apparatus. Accordingly, when the base 1210 and the firstholder 1600 are coupled to each other using the adhesive, there is aneed to apply the adhesive in order to sufficiently seal the coupledregion.

The second holder 1800 may be disposed under the first holder 1600, andmay be provided with the image sensor 1810 mounted thereon. Light havingpassed through the filter 1610 is incident on the image sensor 1810,thereby forming an image, which is contained in the light, on the imagesensor 1810.

The image sensor 1810 is preferably placed on the x-y plane. hi oneembodiment, the image sensor 1810 may be mounted on the upper surface ofthe first holder 1600.

The second holder 1800 may include various circuits, devices,controllers and the like for converting the image formed on the imagesensor 1810 into an electric signal and transmitting the signal to anexternal device.

The second holder 1800 may be coupled to the first holder 1600. As inthe coupling between the base 1210 and the first holder 1600, the secondholder 1800 may be securely coupled to the first holder 1600 by bondingusing an adhesive material. The second holder 1800 may be constituted bya circuit board, on which the image sensor 1810 is mounted and a circuitpattern is formed and to which various devices are coupled.

As shown in FIG. 20, the filter 1610 and the image sensor 1810 may bepositioned to face each other in the first direction. Here, the filter1610 may be spaced apart from the image sensor 1810 by a predetermineddistance in the first direction.

FIG. 21 is a perspective view showing the first holder 1600 according tothe further embodiment. As described above, the first holder 1600 may beprovided with the filter 1610 mounted thereon, and may be provided witha masking member 1500.

In the embodiment, the masking member 1500 may be provided on theperipheral area of the filter 1610, and may serve to prevent at leastsome of the light that has passed through the lens barrel 1400 andentered the peripheral area, from passing through the filter 1610.

The reason why the peripheral area of the filter 1610 is shielded by themasking member 1500 will be described in detail later with reference toFIG. 25.

As shown in FIG. 21, the filter 1610 may be configured to have arectangular shape when viewed in the first direction, and the maskingmember 1500 may be symmetrically disposed along all of the sides of thefilter 1610.

The masking member 1500 may be formed on the side area of the filter1610 so as to have a constant width. The masking member 1500 may beprovided in inner corners thereof with recesses 1510, which extendoutward from the inner corner edges. For example, the masking member1500 has a rectangular inner edge, and the recesses 1510 may be formedfrom the corners of the inner edge of the masking member 1500 outward.The recesses 1510 may be provided at at least two of the four corners ofthe filter 1610.

The masking member 1500 may be coupled to, for example, the uppersurface 1611 (see FIG. 25) of the filter 1610. The masking member 1500may be made of an opaque material, and may be provided as a film appliedto the filter 1610.

Here, the masking member 1500 may be formed, for example, by attachingadditional opaque film to the upper surface 1611 of the filter 1610using an adhesive. In another embodiment, the masking member 1500 may beformed by applying liquid opaque adhesive material to the upper surface1611 of the filter 1610 and allowing the adhesive material to cure, butmay be formed in various other ways.

FIG. 22 is a plan view showing the second holder 1800 according to thefurther embodiment. As described above, the second holder 1800 may beprovided with the image sensor 1810 mounted thereon, and may be providedwith first terminals 1820, second terminals 1830 and wires 1840.

The first terminals 1820 may be formed on the peripheral area of thesecond holder 1800, and the second holder 1800 may be conductivelyconnected to an external device through the first terminals 1820.Specifically, the first terminals 1820 may be provided on opposite sidesof the second holder 1800, as shown in FIG. 22. In another embodiment,the first terminals 1820 may be provided on only one side of the secondholder 1800. The first terminals 1820 may include a plurality ofterminals.

The second terminals 1830 may be formed near the area on which the imagesensor 1810 is mounted, and may be conductively connected to the imagesensor 1810 through the wires 1840, which will be described later. Asshown in FIG. 22, the second terminals 1830 may include a plurality ofterminals disposed around the image sensor 1810.

The wires 1840 may serve to conductively connect the image sensor 1810to the second terminals 1830. The wires 1840 may be made of a conductivematerial, such as gold, silver, copper and copper alloy.

The second holder 1800 may be provided with an attachment 1700. Theattachment 1700 may serve to couple the first holder 1600 to the secondholder 1800. The attachment 1700 may be formed by the application of anadhesive. Although the attachment 1700 may be formed by applying anadhesive to the lower surface of the first holder 1600 or the uppersurface of the second holder 1800, the adhesive is applied to the uppersurface of the second holder 1800 to form the attachment 1700 in thisembodiment.

The adhesive constituting the attachment 1700 may include epoxy,thermosetting adhesive, infrared-curable adhesive and the like.

FIG. 23 is a plan view showing the masking member 1500, which overlapsthe second holder 1800 shown in FIG. 22. FIG. 24 is an enlarged viewshowing region B of FIG. 23. Although the masking member 1500 may becoupled to the upper surface 1611 of the filter 1610 in an embodiment,FIGS. 23 and 14 are provided in order to explain the structure in whichthe masking member 1500 overlaps the second holder 1800.

Since the filter 1610 is positioned to face the image sensor 1810 in thefirst direction, the masking member 1500, which is coupled to theperipheral area of the filter 1610, may overlap the second holder 1800,and may thus overlap at least some of the second terminals 1830 and thewires 1840 when viewed in the first direction, as shown in FIGS. 23 and24.

The image sensor 1810 may be configured to have a rectangular shape whenviewed in the first direction, and the recesses 1510 may be formed so asnot to interfere with the corners of the image sensor 1810 when viewedin the first direction.

The recesses 1510 having this configuration may serve to allow, duringthe assembly of the lens moving apparatus, easy implementation of anactive alignment process, by which the movable unit including the lensbarrel 1400 is aligned in the x-y plane such that light having passedthrough the lens barrel 1400 enters the image sensor 1810 at a positionthat is determined by design.

Specifically, an active alignment apparatus used in the active alignmentprocess may be implemented in such a way as to recognize four corners1811 of the image sensor 1810, to determine the location of the imagesensor 1810 in the x-y plane, and to move the movable unit into the x-yplane in accordance with the determination.

In other words, the active alignment apparatus may recognize thelocations of four corners 1811 of the image sensor 1810 in the x-y planeusing a detection unit provided in the apparatus at a position over thefilter 1610 and the masking member 1500, and may then perform theremaining procedures of the active alignment process in accordance withthe recognized locations.

In order to implement the active alignment process, the recesses 1510may be formed so as not to interfere with the corners 1811 of the sensor1810 when viewed in the first direction, and the active alignmentapparatus may thus recognize four corners 1811 of the image sensor 1810,thereby determining the exact location of the image sensor 1810 in thex-y plane.

The recesses 1510 may be configured to have any shape, as long as therecesses 1510 do not interfere with the corners 1811 of the sensor 1810.For example, each of the recesses 1510 may be configured to have anarcuate shape, a curved shape, a polygonal shape or the like.

FIG. 25 is a cross-sectional view showing part of the lens movingapparatus according to an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 25, the maskingmember 1500, which is coupled to the peripheral area of the uppersurface of the filter 1610, may serve to prevent undesired light, amongthe lights that has passed through the lens barrel 1400 from enteringthe image sensor 1810.

In particular, the light that enters the second terminals 1830 and thewires 1840, may be reflected by the second terminals 1830 and the wires1840, which are made of a conductive material, thereby generatinginstantaneous flaring. This flaring may distort an image formed on theimage sensor 1810, or may deteriorate the quality of the image.

Accordingly, the masking member 1500 may shield the second terminals1830 and the wires 1840 so as not to allow the incident light L to enterthe second terminals 1830 and the wires 1840, thereby preventing aflaring phenomenon. As a result, it is possible to prevent an imageformed on the image sensor 1810 from being distorted or from having adeteriorated image quality.

In addition, since the recesses 1510 formed in the masking member 1500enables the active alignment apparatus to determine the exact locationof the image sensor 1810 in the x-y plane by recognizing the corners1811 of the image sensor 1810, it is possible to easily implement theactive alignment process of the lens moving apparatus.

The lens moving apparatus according to this embodiment may beincorporated in devices in various fields, for example, a camera module.Such a camera module may be applied to mobile devices such as cellularphones.

The actuator module for fulfilling the autofocusing function may beconstructed in various fashions, but mainly adopts a voice coil unitmotor. The lens moving apparatus according to this embodiment may serveas an actuator module for fulfilling both autofocusing and optical imagestabilizing functions.

Although embodiments have been described with reference to a number ofillustrative embodiments thereof, it should be understood that numerousother modifications and embodiments can be devised by those skilled inthe art that will fall within the spirit and scope of the principles ofthis disclosure. More particularly, various variations and modificationsare possible in the component parts and/or arrangements of the subjectcombination arrangement within the scope of the disclosure, the drawingsand the appended claims. In addition to variations and modifications inthe component parts and/or arrangements, alternative uses will also beapparent to those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:
 1. A camera module comprising: a housing; a bobbindisposed in the housing; a lens barrel coupled to the bobbin: a firstcoil disposed on the bobbin; a magnet disposed on the housing; a basedisposed below the bobbin and comprising a first hole; a blocking memberupwardly protruding from an upper surface of the base along an innersurface of the first hole of the base; a printed circuit board disposedon the base and comprising a second hole corresponding to the first holeof the base; and a circuit member disposed on the printed circuit boardand comprising a third hole corresponding to the second hole of theprinted circuit board; wherein the blocking member passes through thesecond hole and the third hole, and wherein an upper end of the blockingmember is positioned higher than a lower end of the lens barrel in anoptical axis direction.
 2. The camera module according to claim 1,wherein a portion of the lens barrel is disposed in the hole of theblocking member.
 3. The camera module according to claim 1, wherein aninner circumferential surface of the blocking member overlaps at least aportion of an outer circumferential surface of the lens barrel in adirection perpendicular to the optical axis direction.
 4. The cameramodule according to claim 1, wherein a height of the outercircumferential surface of the blocking member is greater than a sum ofa thickness of the printed circuit board and a thickness of the circuitmember in the optical axis direction.
 5. The camera module according toclaim 1, wherein the blocking member is disposed between the lens barreland the circuit member in a direction perpendicular to the optical axisdirection.
 6. The camera module according to claim 1, wherein an innercircumferential surface of the blocking member is positioned to face alower portion of an outer circumferential surface of the lens barrel,and wherein the inner circumferential surface of the blocking member isspaced apart from the lens barrel.
 7. The camera module according toclaim 1, wherein the blocking member is configured to have an annularshape.
 8. The camera module according to claim 1, further comprising: afirst holder below the base; a filter disposed on the first holder; asecond holder disposed below the first holder; and an image sensordisposed on the second holder; wherein the first holder comprises aprotrusion protruding from an upper surface of the first holder and theprotrusion surrounds at least a portion of the filter.
 9. The cameramodule according to claim 8, wherein an upper end of the protrusion ofthe first holder is positioned higher than an upper end of the filter inthe optical axis direction.
 10. The camera module according to claim 8,wherein an inner surface of the protrusion of the first holder faces aside surface of the filter and is spaced apart from the side surface ofthe filter.
 11. The camera module according to claim 8, wherein thefilter is configured to have a rectangular shape.
 12. The camera moduleaccording to claim 8, further comprising: a first adhesive memberdisposed between the base and the first holder so as to couple the baseto the first holder; and a second adhesive member disposed between thefirst holder and the second holder so as to couple the first holder tothe second holder, wherein the second adhesive member comprises anopening.
 13. The camera module according to claim 12, wherein the firstholder comprises a recess provided on one side surface of the firstholder, and the recess of the first holder corresponds to the opening ofthe second adhesive member.
 14. The camera module according to claim 13,wherein a width of the opening of the second adhesive member is smallerthan a width of the recess of the first holder.
 15. The camera moduleaccording to claim 14, further comprising a filler filled in the recess.16. The camera module according to claim 1, further comprising: anelastic member coupled to an upper surface of the bobbin and an uppersurface of the housing; and a support member disposed at a corner of thehousing and conductively connected to the elastic member; wherein theprinted circuit board comprises a terminal member bent from an uppersurface of the printed circuit board, and the terminal member comprisesa plurality of terminals.
 17. The camera module according to claim 16,wherein the circuit member comprises a second coil facing the magnet,and wherein the printed circuit board comprises a through hole and oneend of the support member is inserted into the through hole, and theprinted circuit board is conductively connected to the elastic member.18. The camera module according to claim 8, further comprising a maskingmember disposed on the filter and comprising an opening disposed on aposition corresponding to the image sensor, wherein the image sensorcomprises an image sensing region having a rectangular shape, whereinthe opening of the masking member comprises a recess horizontallyrecessed outwardly from a portion corresponding to a corner of the imagesensing region of the image sensor, and wherein the recess of theopening of the masking member is not vertically overlapped with thecorner of the image sensing region of the image sensor.
 19. A cameramodule comprising: a housing; a bobbin disposed in the housing; a lensbarrel coupled to the bobbin; a first coil disposed on the bobbin; amagnet disposed on the housing; a base disposed below the bobbin andcomprising a first hole and a blocking member; a printed circuit boarddisposed on the base and comprising a second hole corresponding to thefirst hole of the base; and a circuit member disposed on the printedcircuit board and comprising a third hole corresponding to the secondhole of the printed circuit board; wherein the blocking member passesthrough the second hole and the third hole, wherein the lens barrelcomprises a protruding portion protruding from a bottom surface of thebobbin, and wherein the protruding portion of the lens barrel faces theblocking member in a direction perpendicular to an optical axisdirection.
 20. A camera module comprising: a housing; a bobbin disposedin the housing; a lens barrel coupled to the bobbin; a first coildisposed on the bobbin; a magnet disposed on the housing; a basedisposed below the bobbin; a blocking member protruding in an opticalaxis direction from an upper surface of the base and comprising a hole;a printed circuit board disposed on the base and conductively connectedto the first coil; and a circuit member disposed on the printed circuitboard and conductively connected to the printed circuit board; wherein aportion of the lens barrel is disposed in the hole of the blockingmember.